Beach

Mexico

Sunsets, tacos, and easy family beach days

Toddler score:9/10

Best from:12m+

Puerto Vallarta is one of our favorite family beach destinations. Beautiful beaches, fresh seafood, and a relaxed atmosphere made every day easy, fun, and memorable with Edison.

Getting there

Nonstop flights from SFO are around 3 hours 45 minutes — one of the easiest international trips from the West Coast. No jet lag, no long travel days, and you're on the beach by afternoon. We flew with a carry-on only and it made the whole experience so much smoother.

Best beaches for toddlers

The beaches in the Hotel Zone and Marina Vallarta are calm and family-friendly. Playa Los Muertos in the Romantic Zone is lively and fun. For a day trip, Bucerías has a long, relaxed stretch of beach with shallow water — perfect for toddlers. Sayulita is charming but has stronger surf, so better for older kids.

The Malecón

The Malecón boardwalk is one of the best toddler activities in Puerto Vallarta. It's flat, pedestrian-friendly, and lined with sculptures, street performers, and food vendors. Evening walks became our daily ritual — Edison loved the pelicans perched along the sea wall and the fresh churros from the carts near the main square.

Day trips

Sayulita is about 45 minutes north and worth a half-day trip for the colorful streets, surf culture, and excellent tacos. Bucerías is closer and more relaxed — great for a quiet beach day away from the crowds. Both are easy drives and a fun change of scenery from the main hotel zone.

Food & dining

Puerto Vallarta has some of the best street food in Mexico. Fresh tacos, ceviche, and elotes are everywhere and incredibly affordable. The Romantic Zone has excellent sit-down restaurants for family dinners. Edison's highlight: fresh churros on the Malecón every single evening without exception.

Edison's pro tip

Stay near the Malecón or Hotel Zone so you can walk almost everywhere. We loved ending each day with a sunset stroll, live music, street performers, and fresh churros while Edison soaked it all in. Sometimes the simplest evenings became our favorite memories.